1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of toilet paper dispensers and, more particularly, to toilet paper dispensers which are adjustable by the user.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is widely known in the art to provide a toilet paper dispenser for rotatably mounting a toilet paper roll near a toilet in a restroom. Typically such devices are mounted to a wall or other supporting structure near a toilet for access when someone is using the toilet. For obvious reasons, ease of access to the toilet paper roll is desirable in this field of the art.
Most toilet paper dispensers are mounted on a wall found adjacent to a toilet. For example, on a tile wall, a few tiles may be cut out and a ceramic toilet paper dispenser will be glued to the wall in an easily accessible position. Typically these dispensers have two arms which extend from the wall and support a mandrel therebetween. The toilet paper roll is supported rotatably by the mandrel and toilet paper is dispensed by rotating the toilet paper roll. Of course, the one major drawback of this type of arrangement is that occasionally there is no wall along the side of the toilet. Also, even if there is a wall along the side of a toilet, ceramic-type toilet paper dispensers are difficult for a homeowner to install on their own and typically require a lot of skill and expense to replace if they break.
It has heretofore been proposed, in order to overcome the problem of mounting a toilet paper dispenser near a toilet when no side wall is present, to either mount the toilet paper dispenser on a wall behind the toilet or in some cases on a vanity which is commonly found in a restroom beside a toilet. Of course, a major problem with mounting a toilet dispenser directly beside or behind the user is that a lot of twisting, turning and other uncomfortable motions must be made to retrieve the toilet paper from the toilet paper dispenser.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,226,453 recognizes the problem of boring holes in the wall of a restroom to enable a dispenser be connected thereto and suggests a dispenser which is mounted on a bolt which holds a toilet seat onto a toilet. Essentially, the dispenser comprises a couple of pieces of thick metal wire with one end being attached to the bolt of the toilet seat and the other end supporting a mandrel for mounting of the toilet paper roll. Unfortunately, although this toilet paper dispenser does not need to be mounted on a wall, it does have at least one major drawback. More specifically, it is difficult to adjust in that, while it does extend to a position where a user can more easily access the toilet paper, it does not retract so as to be out of the way when not in use. While such a feature was not necessary so much with a toilet paper dispenser mounted on a forwardly extending side wall, it becomes particularly important when the toilet paper dispenser is suspended in a position along side a toilet.
Several other individuals have come up with mechanisms for dispensing toilet paper. However, they tend to address radically different problems from the one at issue. U.S. Pat. No. 2,459,252 to Strahan discloses a toilet paper cabinet and dispenser. In Strahan's arrangement, a toilet paper holder may be extended from the cabinet to an in-use position or retracted into the cabinet in order to be hidden from view. While this patent does disclose a toilet paper holder which is extendable and retractable, it does not address the problem of mounting the entire unit when a side wall is not available. The entire cabinet structure of Strahan has to be located directly on some type of wall or other similar supporting structure located in a restroom and if the only available supporting structure is the back wall, for example, the toilet paper will still not be easily accessible despite Strahan's arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,585 to Schultz et al. also discloses a toilet paper dispenser having a movable mandrel. However, this apparatus is concerned with providing two paper rolls in a public restroom. Essentially when one paper roll is used a mandrel supporting a second paper roll is able to slide from a recessed position to an accessible position.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art to provide a toilet paper dispenser which can be mounted next to a toilet without the benefit an adjacent side wall extending in front of and alongside said toilet which can nevertheless place the toilet paper roll in a position where it can easily be accessed and used by someone using the toilet and yet be retracted into a position where it will not interfere with other uses of a restroom.